Rough Waters: Sovereignty and the American Merchant Flag

by Rodney P Carlisle

Overview

Rough Waters traces the evolution of the role of the U.S. merchant ship flag, and the U.S. merchant fleet itself. Rodney Carlisle looks at conduct and commerce at sea from the earliest days of the country, when battles at sea were fought over honor and the flag, to the current American-owned merchant fleet sailing under flags of convenience via foreign registries. Carlisle examines the world-wide use, legality, and continued acceptance of this practice, as well as measures to off-set its ill effects. Looking at the interwar period of 1919–1939, Carlisle examines how the practice of foreign registry of American-owned vessels began on a large scale, led by Standard Oil with tankers under the flag of the Free City of Danzig and followed by Panama. The work spells out how the United States helped further the practice of registry in Panama and Liberia after World War II. Rough Waters concludes with a look at how the practice of foreign registry shapes present-day commerce and labor relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682470879
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	01/15/2017
Series:	New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Rodney Carlisle earned an AB in history at Harvard College and a PhD in history at the University of California, Berkeley. He taught history at Rutgers University from 1966–2000. He is the author or co-author of more than thirty books on history.